Scholarship opens for Marines' children

CAMP PENDLETON  When Bryan Shibley graduates this year from San Diego State University, he’ll be thanking the

How to Apply

Go to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation's website mcsf.org.

Applications available Jan. 1.

Due date March 1.

Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation for helping foot the bill for his education. The 23-year old aerospace engineering major almost didn’t apply for the scholarship and now he’s urging other children of Camp Pendleton troops to fill out an application.

Last year 100 scholarships were given to students from Camp Pendleton and surrounding areas within a radius of 50 miles.

Shibley is one of 1,900 children of Marines and Navy corpsmen receiving a total of $6 million in scholarships from the foundation for the 2012-2013 year. The average award was $3,182.

“We want to honor the service of Marines and their families by helping educate their children,” said Margaret Davis, the scholarship foundation’s president and chief executive officer.

Application filing opened this month with a deadline of March 1.

Davis advises students to submite their applications early and be prepared to tell what their parents’ Marine Corps service has meant in their lives.

For Shibley, his father’s 26 years in the Marines shaped his aspirations. Shibley traces his interest in aerospace engineering to trips with his father, Master Gunnery Sgt. Josiah Shibley, to the airfield at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, where he watched planes take off.

During recent summers, Shibley volunteered at Marine Corps Community Service events, such as races, and worked side by side with volunteers from the military. “My interaction with Marines made me want to be part to the Corps,” Shibley said.

Shibley plans to join the Corps after graduation with the goal of becoming a helicopter pilot. He hopes someday to be based at Camp Pendleton where his family lived for six years.

Joining the Marines is not a requirement for the scholarship. The foundation does pay special attention to college-bound children of wounded service members and those killed in combat.

Currently, close to a 100 students are receiving Heroes Tribute for Children of the Wounded Scholarships and more than a dozen are recipients of the Heroes Tribute for Children of the Fallen Scholarships.

Applicants do not need to attend a four-year college to qualify. The scholarships are open to students in technical and vocational programs and those attending community colleges, Davis said.

The privately funded nonprofit foundation has given out more than 30,000 scholarships valued at more $70 million since it was established in 1962, according to Davis.

Recently, former Padre Trevor Hoffman and his wife. Tracy, established an endowed fund at the scholarship foundation to provide funding for children of Marines in Southern California. Both their fathers served in the Marine Corps.

As the application deadline, draws closer, Shibley recommends that students apply now. “My advice is don’t hesitate, give it a try.”